SBRI Healthcare, an NHS England funded initiative to develop innovative products that address unmet health needs, today announced the companies that will share £4.4 million having successfully reached the next phase (Phase 2) of the clinically-led competition. Six companies, including one in the UCLPartners region, will receive a second round of funding to further develop their products which in this competition are focused on addressing challenges in a key area of healthcare including Brain Injury, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Diabetic Foot Ulcers, Medical Imaging and Outpatient Services.

From 14 companies awarded Phase 1 funding in May 2015, six have demonstrated best value and greatest technical feasibility to a panel of experts looking for innovative technologies with the highest potential value to patients and the health service. The successful companies will now be supported and fully funded to continue with prototype development and product testing.

With awards of up to £1 million each, the successful companies (and supporting Academic Health Science Networks) are:

• Brain Injury – GSPK Design (Yorkshire & Humber AHSN),  Obex Technologies (Eastern AHSN)
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health – Advanced Digital Innovations (Yorkshire & Humber AHSN)
• Diabetic Foot Ulcer – CaDScan (North West Coast AHSN)
• Medical Imaging – Gold Standard Phantoms (UCLPartners AHSN)
• Outpatient Services – Message Dynamics (Kent, Surrey & Sussex AHSN)

Gold Standard Phantoms, a UCL Institute of Neurology spinout company, aims to enable medical imaging to move from a pattern recognition-based technique to a quantitative and reproducible measurement technology. Their innovation is a new device that will allow MRI scanners to provide images representing real numbers, for example, the amount of blood flowing through the brain. These quantitative parameters will allow radiologists and doctors to diagnose certain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, earlier.

Xavier Golay, Director at Gold Standard Phantoms, commented on their award: “As a small, medical technology start-up it is extremely difficult to bridge the gap between an idea and real innovation. SBRI Healthcare’s original Phase 1 award gave us the opportunity to do just that by providing funding, resources and access to key stakeholders that have helped to drive our vision forwards into what we hope will enable a step change in medical imaging. Our recent Phase 2 award will further allow us to set this vision into action, fuelling our product development and improving our stakeholder advocacy. Above all, it will support a ‘real world’ test of our technology.”

“UCLPartners has supported Gold Standard Phantoms during both phase 1 and 2 of the SBRI programme,” saidProfessor Joanne Hackett, Commercial Director of UCLPartners, “We were impressed with the rigours academic input, the creative and elegant nature of the innovation, so we were keen to support the team throughout.”

“It’s great to see so many innovations that show sufficient promise to warrant second stage funding,” said Richard Stubbs, Commercial Director of Yorkshire and Humber AHSN and management board member of SBRI Healthcare. “The products being developed are going to make care better for patients in really critical areas such as brain injury and children’s mental healthcare. As AHSNs across the country we are driving for development and uptake of innovation to improve healthcare and these SBRI-funded ideas are at the heart of that purpose.”

In 2015, SBRI Healthcare awarded £15 million to 26 companies to support the development of products focused on specific NHS unmet need.

To find out more visit www.sbrihealthcare.co.uk

About the winners

Brain Injury

GSPK Design – developing EMGage, a wireless patient and control unit allowing small muscle movements to control ancillary assistive technology equipment. For users with limited capability of movement, EMGage is intended to assist with communication and give a greater level of independence and a greater quality of life.

Obex Technologies Limited – developing an integrated rehabilitation platform for long-term management, tracking and support of patients with brain injury. It is essential that brain injury patients are treated holistically and that there is seamless access to relevant patient information for all stakeholders caring for the patient. This project takes an existing, proven hospital-based and registry platform and extends its applicability into community based healthcare including capturing quality-of-life information directly from the patient.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Advanced Digital Innovations (UK) Limited – developing CAMHS Open Outreach Platform (CO-OP) to provide children, young people and their families with a set of integrated, evidence-based digital resources to support their mental health and wellbeing. CO-OP connects securely across to CAMHS services and associated electronic patient record systems.

Diabetic Foot Ulcer

CaDScan Limited – developing a low-cost, on-demand system to manufacture effective insoles to reduce the risk of people with diabetes developing foot ulcers. The system consists of a 3D foot scanner, 3D insole printer and software that can automatically design and manufacture a bespoke insole.

Medical Imaging
Gold Standard Phantoms Limited – developing a model of brain perfusion as a calibration device for the measurement of quantitative parameters in MRI. Currently MRI scanners provide images for radiologists to visually diagnose illnesses. This new device will allow MRI scanners to provide images representing real numbers, for example, the amount of blood flowing through the brain. These quantitative parameters will allow radiologists and doctors to diagnose certain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, earlier.

Outpatient Services

Message Dynamics Limited – developing Outpatient Monitor which uses a patient’s own phone, either a landline or a mobile, to remotely monitor recovery and wellbeing. By sending an automatically generated phone call, or messages to a smartphone, clinicians will be able to ask the same questions that they would otherwise ask in a face to face setting without the patient needing to travel.